Berger 308 200 gr Hybrids & Varget

[jdj71]

Read all above posts. A lot of info. to digest. I want to try 200.20x bullets with varget in my rem 700 (28"hart 1 in 10).Current best load is 175gr SMK w/43.5gr varget in lapua std brass@2800fps. Started to work up a load w/185VLD bergers (started@41.5gr primer leak@43.2 and holed one@43.5 w/once fired FC brass). I think I'll start 200gr work up in lapua brass. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. P.S.I start the bullets at the lands -.002"

 

[johnnyi]

So which load did Johnny settle on for the 200X bullet? Most all looked good from what I see.

Barrel is 31.5"



I did another round of testing and going slightly above the highest charge above as my prior barrel like shooting 2700 range. I'm running Palma brass and longer than most are running freebore. This was a barrel I had for the 210's with .215 freebore. I tested both 43.8 2650's and 44.8 2690-2700 at 600. The faster produced better vertical and nice round groups. So far still working with that. Just did more testing at 1000 and plan to shot 1000 yard match tomorrow to see if it holds up...?

 

[Medium rare]

Looks like it worked pretty well. He won every single match today.

 

[Ilya S.]

Here's a picture of the target that Johnny Ingram just sent me

Its a prone shooting with bipods ? Non free recoil ? If its so, he is awesome guy. Can someone tell me about his rig, bipods, rear bag and shooting tecnique ?

 

[seymour fish]

Gezz, my 185 juggernaut load on my M14 using Lapua brass is burning 42.0g of varget. Around 2500 fps.

Ranger, are you running a vented plug/grooved piston?

 

[Tempest]

Sorry to dig up old thread. Did some testing yesterday on same load as discussed here. What temp are some of you getting these velocities? Using Benchmark 1/10 twist 32" barrel, Lapua Palma brass, 200g Berger Hybrids and Varget. Also, brand new barrel, only shot 20 rounds through it yesterday.

Shot great in testing at 600 yards. However, at 43.2-43.3g Varget at 68F, I'm only getting 2605 FPS. Did a ladder test and 42.2-43.3 was in good accuracy node. Planning to use this load at 1,000 yard FTR soon. According to JBM, looks like I would be 1,400+FPS at the target for 1,000. For those that use this round, is that enough velocity or do I need more?

 

[Ned Ludd]

Certainly it is enough to get you to the target at 1000 yd with plenty of room to spare, velocity-wise. However, whether it is all you could be getting is another question entirely. With a ~29-31" barrels and Varget, the 2640-2660 fps range seems to coincide with a commonly-used accuracy node. As you can see from the above threads, there is clearly another node even higher. Assuming you have plenty of freebore to seat the 200s optimally, 43.3 gr of Varget is a fairly conservative load. Because you already have your 43.2-43.3 load working, it seems like it wouldn't be a huge effort to go a little higher and see if you can't hit another node somewhere between 2650 and 2700 fps (Note - I mention this because you didn't indicate how high you actually went in your previous ladder test). With the caveat of comparable precision between the two loads, giving up somewhere in the range of 50-70 fps velocity also means you're giving up somewhere in the range of 0.2 MOA windage at 1000 yd (full value 10 mph wind). Although not a huge difference, it could still be worth a few points every match. If you don't find an additional higher node within a reasonable charge weight interval [increase] from 43.2-43.3 gr, you can always stick with that and know that you paid due diligence to the load development process.

 

[Tempest]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[savageshooter86]

I shoot the 43 to 43.3 load. Right at 2600 fps. It hammers and let's me compete at a high level. So I didn't even push to get to next node. I might try to push them with next lot of bullets to get to higher node and see what they do there

 

[Tempest]

I need to correct myself on something I posted earlier. I initially did a chrono on the 43.3 load asking about velocity. On that day, cooler temp etc. I was getting 2605 FPS at the muzzle. Just did a 1,000 yard match recently and actual velocity based on drop was 2675 FPS at 80F. Appears similar to what others are getting.

 

[Down South]

I need to correct myself on something I posted earlier. I initially did a chrono on the 43.3 load asking about velocity. On that day, cooler temp etc. I was getting 2605 FPS at the muzzle. Just did a 1,000 yard match recently and actual velocity based on drop was 2675 FPS at 80F. Appears similar to what others are getting.

When i ran Varget with 200 hybrids (great bullet) in my older barrel that's very close to where i was running with 43.3 gr. and 32 inch barrel. Shot really well there at all distances.......

 

[Tempest]

When i ran Varget with 200 hybrids (great bullet) in my older barrel that's very close to where i was running with 43.3 gr. and 32 inch barrel. Shot really well there at all distances.......

Thanks for the feedback. I've seen you shoot and you posted that load before. So I thought it was a dang good place to start! So far looks like rifle likes it.

 

[Down South]

Thanks for the feedback. I've seen you shoot and you posted that load before. So I thought it was a dang good place to start! So far looks like rifle likes it.

Sounds like it's working for you!......

 

[Tempest]

Sounds like it's working for you!......

Yes thank you! Actually it's my sons gun. Built him a new one for graduation present. Looks good in testing so far and one match. Looking forward to seeing how it does in some better conditions.